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Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation

@gwotmf

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Designated by Congress to build the Global War on Terrorism Memorial on the National Mall to honor those who have served in our Nation's longest war.

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Medal of Honor recipient and retired U.S. Army Green Beret Matthew O. Williams (@mattwilliams36) reflects on the extraordinary resilience of Afghan Special Operations veterans who served alongside American forces.

After escaping Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in 2021, many of these veterans have gone on to rebuild their lives, pursue new opportunities, and contribute meaningfully to their communities in the United States.

@mattwilliams36 - we are truly grateful to you for showing up for us and being a consistent supporter of our Afghan SOF brothers.

NOORI — streaming exclusively on @primevideo November 1.

#GreenBeret #MedalOfHonor #SpecialOperations #NooriFilm

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“Remember that veterans, whether they’re from Afghanistan, America, wherever, they’re just human beings… and we’ve all got a story to tell.”

U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, former @nfl player, and filmmaker @nateboyer37 shares why NOORI is a story worth watching.

Nate reminds us that NOORI is more than a story about war. It’s a reminder of our shared humanity.

NOORI — streaming exclusively on @primevideo November 1.

#NooriFilm #Veteran

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Before the flying Tesla, 2004!⚡️#elotemusk #rotm #b12 #alv

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When @therock supports your film, he goes BIG! 💪

A huge thank you to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and @papatui_ for sending 270 pounds of PAPATUI products to support our Noori red carpet event with @amazonmilitary!

As a proud girl dad and longtime supporter of the military and veteran community, The Rock represents something at the heart of Noori: true strength isn’t just about what you can carry, but how you lift up everyone around you.

Noori may look like a film about war and brotherhood, but at its heart, it’s also a story about family, fatherhood, and building a better future for the next generation.

Thank you, Dwayne and the entire PAPATUI team, for your generosity and support!

Noori — streaming exclusively on @primevideo November 1.

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🇦🇫 AFGHANISTAN | THE EARLY GWOT YEARS 🇺🇸

Before the sprawling forward operating bases, armored MRAPs, and the massive logistical machine that would eventually define the war in Afghanistan, there was a very different kind of fight.

The early years of Operation Enduring Freedom were a lesson in unconventional warfare, ingenuity, and making do with what was available.

Deep in Afghanistan’s unforgiving mountains, American Special Operations Forces and their Afghan allies operated in a world where roads were little more than goat tracks, resupply was never guaranteed, and the nearest support could be hours away.

Sometimes the best vehicle for the mission wasn’t an American Humvee. It was a battered Land Rover Defender, locally sourced Toyota, or whatever could negotiate a narrow mountain pass without disappearing over the edge.

These photographs capture that era beautifully.

A dust-covered Defender, fitted with a brush guard, winch, and spare tire strapped across the bonnet, navigating terrain that would challenge even the most purpose-built military vehicles. A narrow suspension bridge barely wider than the truck itself. American operators carrying an assortment of equipment, blending modern communications and weaponry with the practical realities of fighting in one of the most geographically hostile environments on Earth.

There was no perfect equipment solution. There was only the mission, the terrain, and the determination to make it work.

The early GWOT in Afghanistan was a remarkable intersection of old-school soldiering and modern unconventional warfare. Horseback operations, indigenous partnerships, satellite communications, precision airpower, and decades-old 4x4s all existed on the same battlefield.

For many who served during those formative years, Afghanistan was a war of small teams, enormous distances, improvisation, and incredible personal initiative.

It was also a reminder of something militaries have understood for centuries:

“The enemy gets a vote. The terrain gets two.“
📸 @redleader_standingby

#LandRoversOfWar #warfare #combathistory #military #specialforces

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“You Are the Lore”

These photographs capture the men of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4) whose experiences are documented in Gregg Zoroya’s Unremitting: The Marine “Bastard” Battalion and the Savage Battle that Marked the True Start of America’s War in Iraq.

Behind every photograph is a Marine with a story, a family, and brothers who remember him. Their experiences remind us that history is not simply a collection of battles and dates. It is the lives of those who were there.

Books like Unremitting help ensure those stories are not forgotten.

#TheLore #Unremitting #MagnificentBastards #RamadiMarine #GWOTMarine

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@monsterzdad of the @gwotmf is officially in the Humvee Hot Seat!

Watch him take on the Humvee Hot Seat Challenge—then enter the Drive 4 Freedom Sweepstakes for your chance to take the Humvee home!

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“It’s the story of brotherhood and humanity as a whole.”

Michael “Rod” Rodriguez (@monsterzdad) President & CEO of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, shares why he believes Noori is an important story for Americans to see.

Featured in the film himself, Rod reflects on service, the bonds forged through it, and the shared humanity that extends far beyond the battlefield.

We’re honored to have the @gwotmf as an impact partner of Noori, helping carry this story and its message forward.

Streaming exclusively on @primevideo November 1.

#NooriFilm #GWOTMemorial #Brotherhood #Veterans

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Twenty-five years ago today, the war in Afghanistan began. It opened the Global War on Terror, a fight that continues still, more than two decades on.

According to the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, @gwotmf, more than 3.7 million Americans have served since 9/11, and more than 7,000 have given their lives. Families across this country carry them every day.

Drew was one of them. So were the men and women some of you knew, loved, served beside, and still carry.

Today we remember all of them. The ones who served, the ones who fell, and the families who keep their names alive.

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“It’ll make you feel great about being American, but more importantly, it’ll make you feel great about folks who come to our country and do their best to become an American as well.”

Medal of Honor recipient and retired U.S. Army Green Beret Matthew Williams @mattwilliams36 shares what resonated with him about Noori

Noori — streaming exclusively on @primevideo November 1.

#NooriFilm

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Title: “Bury My Heart in Baghdad”
Author: Colonel Byron Jay Owen @broadsword_6

Unit(s) Served In:
-Combined Anti-Armor Team platoon, 1/1, 1st MARDIV
-2/7, 1st MARDIV
-3/8, 2nd MARDIV
-1/3, 3rd MARDIV
-1st Reconnaissance Battalion
-1st Force Reconnaissance Company
-Cyberspace Warfare Task Group 2,
-3d Radio Battalion

“Bury My Heart in Baghdad” is military fiction rooted in Colonel Byron Owen’s experiences as an infantry platoon commander in Iraq. Set in 2006, it follows NCIS Special Agent Jessica Cortez as she joins a Marine platoon to investigate a possible war crime. What begins as an investigation becomes something much harder: a confrontation with what happens when rules written in black and white meet a battlefield painted entirely in gray.

At its heart is a question of morality. Do you do something because it is right by the book, or because you believe it is simply the right thing to do? Owen refuses to make the answer easy. Through Cortez, Staff Sergeant Rosch, Lawson, Rodriguez, and the rest of the platoon, we see Marines forced to make decisions where legality, loyalty, survival, revenge, and conscience collide. Sometimes every available choice carries a cost.

The combat is violent, but the book’s greatest strength is what happens around it. Marines joke, fight, grieve, protect one another, and slowly absorb what war demands of them. Lawson becomes especially important because he represents something easily lost in that environment: the ability to remain a good man while becoming an effective warrior. As another Marine observes, the rules are not only there to protect others. They can protect Marines from becoming the very monsters they are fighting.

Owen’s central warning is that war touches everyone who enters it. Leadership and discipline cannot erase that damage, but they can keep it from consuming a unit. “Bury My Heart in Baghdad” ultimately asks something Marines and veterans may recognize immediately: when the mission is over and the shooting stops, how much of yourself did you manage to bring home?

#BuryMyHeartInBaghdad #ByronOwen #ForceRecon #IraqWar #GWOT

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One of the books currently on my reading rotation thanks to @warmbierpaul.

“Geometry of Fire” is Paul Warmbier’s deeply personal memoir of his journey from a young Marine infantryman at war in Iraq to a veteran searching for peace at home. Moving between memories of combat and the difficult years that followed, Warmbier examines the lasting weight of war, the loss of identity that can come after leaving the Corps, and the long process of learning how to live beyond it.

Be on the lookout for more on “Geometry of Fire”

#GeometryOfFire #PaulWarm #GWOTMarine #MarineAuthor #IraqVeteran

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